RWBY: Beacon's Fading Light
by Zivon96
Summary: Beacon Academy has been a place of light and hope for time immemorial, a place for the training of huntsmen and huntresses, those who protect the world and all it's people. But inside lies a heart of darkness waiting to be unleashed and take vengeance on those believed to be in the wrong. Heroes will rise to meet the challenge, but will they be enough? And for which side?
1. The Artist

**Beacon's Fading Light**

**The Artist**

The mountain path was covered in snow as a black cloaked figure carrying a black staff with a large ball on one end trudged her way through the white. The howling wind tore at her hood, blowing away the warm breaths she let out every so often as she used her staff to make her way through the snow. Ahead, off the path, she spied a forest through the snow. The figure turned, walking straight for the trees.

It seemed it was not to be, however, for as the wind lessened, and the snow lightened she could see ahead enough to see ten men in long dark coats exit the trees, some carrying guns, but others blades. "What's the hurry?" asked the lead fellow, a tall man carrying a katana. "You seem lost, perhaps my men and I could help. For a small fee, of course." He said, smiling.

The cloaked figure merely shook her head and continued walking, only for the men to form up and block her path.

"I don't think I made myself clear," said the leader. "give us everything you have, and we'll let you pass. Refuse and, well, things will get ugly."

The girl ignored him and continued walking, only for him to grab her by the arm that held her staff.

Bad move. Grabbing him with her free hand, the girl flipped him over her back and threw him face first into the snow. Before she could keep moving, he brought his head up and barked a command to his men: "Get her!"

They obliged, but those three who charged with blades didn't get far before she flung her cloak off and threw it at them. Removing the cloak, the girl revealed herself as a medium height oriental girl with green eyes, black hair and a single streak of green, matching that of her eyes. She wore a maroon outfit with a green leather chestplate and boots.

As her cloak hit the three men, distracting them from their advance, she spun her staff around and hit the ball end on the ground, causing a clawed hand to emerge from the end, a clear crystal on each knuckle, as well as one in the palm. She shot forward, smacking all three men with the clawed end, knocking them to the ground.

The other six men all raised their pistols and opened fire, but the girl didn't move. Her eyes glowed blue as she spun her staff all around her, bullets being blocked by the metal pole as she walked forward towards her assaulters.

As the men realized their guns were of no use, each one drew a melee weapon and charged, the first man trying to strike with an axe, but was smacked aside by the claw right before the ball end hit his friend who tried to strike from the other side with a club.

The girl then leapt back from another strike from a sword and pointed the claw end at her attacker. The crystals glowed red, and the fingers all pointed at him before a blast of red energy shot out and knocked him back.

She launched two more blasts towards the next four men, three dodging, but one being knocked back by the blast. The other two men charged her, the first with a hatchet which she caught with the claw, pulled it out of his grasp, and threw at his friend, slowing his charge as he dodged and gave her time to strike the now unarmed man with the ball end before turning to hit him with a claw to the face, causing him to drop his machete next to her feet.

Turning to the last man, she pointed the claw at him, but after seeing what she did to his crew, he turned tail. Smiling, the girl hit the staff on the ground and collapsed the claw, but before she could turn around, she heard a gun being cocked. She had forgotten the leader.

"Well, that was impressive." He said "Why don't you put that stick down, and drop the rest of your supplies, and maybe then I won't shoot you."

Looking down at her feet, she saw the discarded machete, and her eyes glowed blue for just a second. She smacked it with the ball end of her staff, seemingly in frustration, knocking it into a branch of the tree above the man's head.

"Careful girly," he said "One more stunt like that, and I won't hesitate to shoot-" he didn't have time to finish his sentence as the branch above him, cut by the machete, fell on his head, followed by all the snow above it.

The girl smiled, walking over to pick up her cloak before returning to the pile of snow just as the man shook his head free. She casually smacked him in the face with the ball end before continuing her journey.

_**The Artist**_

**So there's the first trailer, I didn't think I'd finish it this quickly, but there you are. I hope you like it, and there's more to come later. Let me know if you liked it, hated it, or think I could have done something better, I live for feedback.**

**As Always, I don't own RWBY or anything related to it.**


	2. The Renegade

**The Renegade**

The evening light filtered through the windows of the airship cockpit, turning the room a vibrant orange with its glow as it reflected off the polished interior of the ship as it approached a large, majestic castle in the distance.

The joyous seeming moment, however, did not spread to the occupants of the cockpit, as the captain of the ship gripped the steering wheel tightly, as if his life depended on it, his eyes glued to the building in the distance. In under an hour they'd be there, and this would all be over in a neat fashion. He suspected that wouldn't be the case, which was why there was another person in the cockpit with him.

He leaned against the wall, seeming to be asleep with how little noise he made. He wore a long, black and red greatcoat with a matching in colour tricorne hat. Looking under the hat, he was a clean shaven, Caucasian male with brown eyes, black hair peeking out from under the hat. One however would be less concerned with his face, and more with the pair of swords sheathed at his waist, strapped to a belt buckled with a red, five pointed star with an image of crossed swords on it.

The captain tried to strike up a conversation. "We're almost there now, in about fifteen minutes we'll be ready to land."

"You don't say." muttered the swordsman, a south English accent showing in his smooth voice. "And you still haven't told me what we're doing here."

"That's classified." The captain replied.

"Of course it bloody is."

"Your job's nearly done, so you'll be paid after we get there."

This brought a small smirk to the swordsman's face. Money made the world go round, and it never hurt for him to have more of it.

That was when the door opened and the captain's first mate stepped in. "Is something the matter?" asked the captain.

"You never told us what we were transporting!"

"That was part of the deal. We bring this in, you ask no questions."

"This is too much. I'm relieving you of your rank as captain!" to accentuate his point, the first mate drew his pistol and stuck it right in the captain's face.

The captain looked pleadingly to the other man. "Help me! This is what I hired you for, now help me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the first mate whirled and pointed the gun right at the other man. "You wanna be a hero? Try me."

To everyone's surprise, he simply raised his hands.

No one could forget the look of absolute horror on the captain's face when this happened. "What am I paying you for?" he demanded.

"First rule of my services: do not antagonize the man with a gun in your face."

"Smart boy." Said the first mate. He brought the gun back around to the captain, but before he could do more, the swordsman grabbed his pistol, shoved it aside and slugged him in the jaw. As the first mate reeled in pain, he kneed him in the gut and as he doubled over he drew one of his swords and hit him in the back of the head with the pommel.

"There are bound to be more of them." He said "I'll head out and make this place safe again." with that, he headed out the cockpit door.

He was instantly met by five other crewmen, each one carrying some form of melee weapon or gun. He sighed, before beginning his attack, knocking a machete aside with one of his blades before kicking its owner in the face. He then cut a gun in half and pommel struck its user over the head before he could get a shot off. Moving to the next man, he blocked a strike from his hatchet before throwing him at his friend before he could get a shot off.

The final man attacked with his sword, but he managed to block it with one of his and use the guard on the other to punch him out. He was about to walk back to the captain when he heard it.

It was faint, but he definitely heard it. A low growl, resonating from the hold of the airship.

Walking back into the cockpit, he saw the captain sitting calmly at the wheel. "Ah, there you are. I assume those fools are dead."

"They're taken care of."

"Good, then I can set the ship on autopilot for the rest of the trip. It'll land for us and then I'll give you your pay."

The captain made his way to the door, but was stopped when the swordsman shut it in his face. "What's in the hold?"

The captain looked at him, exasperated "I already told you it's classified. Now if you'll let me dispose of the crew,"

"Oh I've had enough of your bloody secrets." He said, evenly. He took one step toward the captain and punched him in the face. He fell to the floor as the swordsman stood over him. The room suddenly seemed to get darker. "Whatever's down there made your crew turn on you, and since I highly doubt your entire crew was six blokes with a nark on, something's happened to the rest and I think that has something to do with it." His eyes turned red as he picked the captain off the floor and brought him right up to his face. The rest of the room went dark as his voice seemed to drop in pitch. The captain could see fangs when he opened his mouth to speak again. "Now tell me, what's down there?"

"We're transporting Grimm!" the captain blurted out. "We're taking them to this professor at beacon! He didn't tell us what he wanted them for, just that he did!"

"Give me my money!"

The terrified captain dug into his pocket and with a shaking hand threw out a pouch of coins. "Take it!" the swordsman caught it, and the room returned to normal.

With that, he walked out to the rest of the ship and opened the door to the hold, immediately running the Beowolf on the other side through on a cutlass before walking through. He looked down into the hold to see the whole place full of the lupine Grimm.

He grinned before flicking a switch on both cutlasses, causing a small barrel to emerge from both hilts. He charged, leaping over the hold, pointing his swords and spraying bullets at the Grimm, landing on the other side, he continued to fire, stopping when his guns clicked empty only to charge at the wolves. He cut the head off of one before blocking a claw strike from another, removing it's arm before running it through.

He withdrew both his blades and shoved both into the chest of a charging Beowolf before picking it up on the swords and hurling it at another. He pounced on the downed wolf and plunged a sword into its head.

Looking around at the rest of the Beowolves, he chortled before ejecting the clips from his swords and replacing them with fresh ones.

The Grimm charged. He gunned down the first one with a burst from his left cutlass, decapitating another with his right at the same time. He then spun in a circle, spraying bullets as he did, peppering the remaining Grimm with lead. By the time the guns were empty, only three of the creatures remained.

He dodged the charge of the first and ran it through before cutting the head off the second and using both blades to impale the third.

His work done, he sheathed his weapons, dusted off his hands and walked back up to the main deck to find the captain still in the fetal position. "Cheer up mate, we're here."

_**The Artist**_

_**The Renegade**_

**oxoxoxo**

**Author's note. I probably won't update this soon again, but I want to get these trailers out fairly quickly. Expect the other two by the end of next week, and from then I'll try and make regular updates.**


	3. The Noble

**The Noble**

Three men stood outside a building. The first two wore standard police uniforms of blue and black with caps on their heads and pistols in hand. The third, he was different.

First, he wore a larger, wide brimmed hat with a large blue feather in it, the hat covering a good amount of his long blonde hair, but doing nothing to hide his bright blue eyes and thin moustache. His extravagance didn't end there, rather it continued with the rest of his clothing: a royal blue tabard with a golden fleur de lis on the front covering an armoured chestplate. His shirt and pants were of fine black silk, and below all that were a pair of knee high brown boots. In his hand, he held a long, metallic carbine rifle, a scope on top and a bayonet sticking out the front, emerging from the gun.

The nobleman turned to his men and spoke in a voice that resonated loud and proud in their ears. "_Mes amis_, this group has eluded us for too long, and now that we have finally tracked down their base of operations, and now we deliver le coup de grace. We will end them here, and rescue those they have taken as hostages!" his eyes were bordered with gold as he spoke, and as he did, the glow spread to the eyes of the men as they seemed to stand taller the more he spoke.

"Stand with me," he said, louder "The day will be ours!" he said, raising his carbine in the air. The two men let out a shout and raised their arms with him.

All of them readied their weapons and faced the door. "Remember, _mes amis_," he spoke once more "the cell is small, but they have mechanical aid as well. Be cautious as you go. _Bon chance_."

With that, he brought his foot back and, in one swift motion, kicked down the door and immediately shot the mechanical soldier behind it. He walked in calmly, the two officers following at the same pace. Another mechanical soldier entered the room, but was immediately shot by one of the officers.

They continued their calm, yet quick pace, immediately removing any threat that crossed them with either a single shot or bayonet.

Down the corridor they went, never stopping. Another machine entered from a side door behind them, but the noble pointed his carbine over his shoulder and dropped it with a single shot to the face. As the two officers fired on two droids appearing in front of them.

They continued their march until they met a door at the end of the hall. Trying the handle, he found it was locked, so he brought up his boot and knocked it down only to be immediately shot from within and fall to the floor. The two officers brought up their guns and fired at the two droids in the room before they noticed its contents: about two dozen people, tied and gagged. "Looks like he was right." Said one, looking down at the man who had led them here. "Poor guy."

That was when they heard him groan. A large dent in his chestplate, the nobleman rose from the floor. "I'm going to need to get that repaired." He muttered.

He got to his feet and turned to the men. "Get the hostages out of here, now. I'm going after the head."

The officers nodded as he continued down the hall. A droid emerged from a nearby room, but didn't even get a shot off before there was a bayonet in its face. Another emerged from a further door, but without breaking his stride, the nobleman shot it in the head. Realizing he had no ammunition left, he opened the gun and loaded another stripper clip, continuing his pace the whole time.

Finding the final door, he kicked it down to find the two heads of the cell. And one of the hostages held by one as a shield.

"You're finally here." Said the first man, brandishing his zweihander "You cost me and my friend here a lot of money, not to mention most of our guests."

"Luckily we still had one left." Said the second man, aiming his pistol at the noble from behind a gagged brunette woman. "So you can walk out right now, and we'll send her home a little wor-"

He didn't get another word out before a carbine shot hit him between the eyes and he fell to the ground. The man with the sword made a run for her, but before he could, the noble's carbine unfolded, the stock and barrel peeling off the bayonet forming a hand guard for what was now a straight sword that swatted his blade to the ground.

The criminal turned to face him and raised his sword for an attack. The noble stepped out of the way as the blade bit into the ground. He came in with a thrust from his blade, but the criminal stepped out of the way and came back with a spinning slash, one that the noble ducked under.

He then came back with a stab right to the leader's kneecap, sending the man to his knees. He struggled to get back up as his opponent closed in. As the noble stood over him, he looked up and smirked. The criminal pressed a button on his watch and a force of droids burst into the room, weapons trained on him.

Before anyone could react, the nobleman shot forward, running one of the machines through on his sword before turning to do the same to another which he then turned around to use as a shield as the others opened fire. He threw the riddled husk of a machine at its companions before charging and stabbing one through its 'head' and another in the 'chest.' He then returned the sword to its rifle form and opened fire, downing three other troops before they could fire on him.

Soon, the room was clear, and the only ones left were him and the hostage. Wait, where did the cell leader go?

The hostage called out through her gag, the noble ran over and cut off the gag with his bayonet. "He went that way!" she blurted out, pointing to the door he entered the room through.

After cutting off her bonds, the noble ran back the way he came, soon spotting the fleeing man, limping to the exit using the wall for support. Deciding to bring him down, he raised his rifle and gave one last shot and the man fell, crying out in pain.

He calmly walked over to the downed man. "Oh relax _mon ami, _I didn't kill you, did I?"

_**The Artist**_

_**The Renegade**_

_**The Noble**_


	4. The Rival

**The Rival**

Onto an empty stage shone a bright light. Someone was speaking, but no one paid them any attention as anyone watching the stage focused only on the light splitting into two spotlights as they shone onto two girls as they walked onto the stage from either side.

The first was a red haired girl with bright green eyes dressed in a strapless bronze chestplate that hugged her figure with a brown miniskirt at the bottom, and thigh high bronze greaves. on her head was a bronze circlet with small chains coming off it. She carried a small shield in her left hand, and a red spear with bronze details in her right.

From the other side of the stage came another girl, this one dressed quite differently than the first, in a gleaming steel segmented chestplate reaching over her shoulders and partway down her arms, a purple skirt coming out of the bottom, steel greaves up to her knees and topped off with a steel centurion helmet with a purple plume on top. She carried with her a large, rectangular purple shield with an iron boss in the centre, and a shortsword.

The two girls stood on opposite sides of the arena, neither one making a move, only looking into each others' eyes as the announcer spoke. Neither of them heard it though, as like the audience, they were too focused on one another. This was to be their final battle.

It was only a moment later when the announcer gave the one word the audience and the two girls were waiting for: "Begin!"

The Centurion girl made the first move, charging forward, shield held in front of her, smashing right into the other girl and knocking her back as she continued to push forward. She tried to stab her with her shortsword, but the bronze clad girl rolled right off her shield and tried a stab at her back, but her steel opponent spun around and batted the spear aside with her shield.

The bronze girl jumped back before the steel girl could get in a slash or stab, her spear collapsing into a shortsword as she did. The other girl, not even pausing for breath, charged again, but this time, the result was different, with her opponent, instead of holding her ground, dodging out of the way of her charge and immediately attacking from her now open flank. The steel girl brought up her sword to block the attack, but didn't manage to do, as her blade was smacked aside before the bronze girl's might.

Bronze immediately came back with a stab, but was parried by steel at the last moment, before steel brought her sword back for another attack that bronze jumped back from.

The Amazonian bronze girl then kicked her Centurion opponent in the shield, knocking her back, but not over. But that was all she needed as she brought back her spear and attacked from out of her reach, and with such speed and frequency that it forced the other girl back, all of it ending with her jumping back a distance that the spear could not cover. The girl in bronze smirked "I thought you were always aggressive."

She faltered when her smirk was reflected under the other girl's helmet. "I am." She said, planting her shield on the ground. A whirring noise was heard as the shield's boss opened to reveal ten spinning barrels, all of which opened fire, the bronze clad girl having just enough time to leap out of the way as the stream of bullets tore through where she was just standing.

The Centurion continued her all out fire, the other girl never being able to get close enough to attack her. But that wasn't her concern at the moment. The Amazonian girl managed to shift her weapon's form again, this time forming a rifle and putting her shield on her back. She leaped into the air and opened fire, most of it being deflected off the other girl's shield, but one shot glancing off the plume on her helm and knocking it clean off, revealing her ivory skin, brown hair and red eyes to the audience and her opponent.

This didn't stop her, though. Regaining her balance, the Centurion pulled down on her shield's trigger again and was about to fire when a black aura surrounded her shield and tossed it to the side. She looked down at her now empty hand just long enough to let the bronze girl charge, sword and shield ready. She only had time to raise her sword to block the first attack, and was forced onto the defensive as the other girl continued her relentless assault, stabbing and slashing over and over again, not letting the steel clad girl get a single strike of her own in.

That was when the match was decided in one more move, the bronze girl knocked the Centurion's blade aside, spun around and hit her in the head with her shield.

Now dazed by the blow, the steel clad girl could do nothing to stop her opponent slamming into her, shield first, and then giving her one good blow with her spear, sending her off the stage.

Looking up from where she now lay, the steel clad girl only saw her bronze clad rival now standing over her, a kind smile on her face. While her looks were neutral, all she felt right now was rage. Wanting to wipe that smile off her foe's face. She rejected the hand of assistance offered to her by her opponent and stalked off to collect her shield as her new enemy was given her prize.

This would not be forgotten by her. The victor, maybe, but not the defeated.

_**The Artist**_

_**The Renegade**_

_**The Noble**_

_**The Rival**_

**oxoxoxo**

**So there's the last of the trailers, the next chapter will get the story rolling. It'll take place during the first season of RWBY, with the original characters appearing alongside the ones I've just introduced. Obviously some story elements will have to change, but not too many, don't worry. I would never do anything to hurt Monty Oum's baby.**


	5. Welcome to Beacon

**RWBY: Beacon's Fading Light**

**Chapter 1**

"How's your first day going little sister?"

Rube Rose gave her sister a sour look. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"

Yang heard some snickers from a guy in front of her as she replied "Yikes, meltdown already?"

"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice..."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Ruby snorted. "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me! And then I sneezed and I exploded, and then she yelled again, and I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me-"

"YOU!"

"Oh God, it's happening again!" Ruby cried, jumping into her sister's arms at the arrival of the irate heiress Weiss Schnee. The snickers from before were replaced by the sounds of someone desperately trying to hold back laughter.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss continued.

"Oh my God you really exploded." Yang muttered.

"It was an accident, it was an accident!" Ruby pleaded. She was going to say more, but then Weiss shoved a flyer in her face entitled _Dust for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals._ "What's this?"

Weiss launched into a speech she had given many a time before. "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product, although not mandatory,"

Ruby zoned out as Weiss gave her speech, the stifled laughs from in front of them ceased. "Um..."

"You really want to start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely?"

"Then read this and don't ever speak to me again." Weiss concluded.

Yang scratched the back of her head and spoke again. "Look, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot, why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah," said Ruby "great idea sis. Ahem. Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."

"Yeah," the heiress replied "and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes and talk about cute boys like," picking a random example, Weiss pointed to a certain skinny blonde knight that ruby had met earlier "Tall, Blonde and... Scraggly over there."

"Wow, really?" said Ruby, voice full of hope.

Weiss just glared at her for a few seconds before replying. "No."

From in front of them, all that was heard was a roar of laughter as a boy in front of them in a black coat with black hair turned around and spoke in an accented voice "Bloody hell, you two should sell tickets to this!"

Yang turned, ready to punch this guy out. "Do you mind?" she paused for a moment when she faced him though. "Wait, Thatch?"

"Yang? Yang Xiao Long?" the boy in front of them replied. "I heard you might be going to Beacon, it's good to see you again."

"You know this guy?" asked Ruby.

Yang was about to reply when over the loudspeakers came the noise of someone clearing their throat. Everyone turned to the front of the room as Headmaster Ozpin began his speech. "I'll... keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."

Ruby could do nothing but smile at this. That was exactly what she planned to do.

Her smile dropped a little as Ozpin continued his speech, his voice never leaving its original deadpan tone. "But I look among you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Everyone in the room looked confused as Ozpin calmly walked off the stage, his place at the microphone taken by the woman everyone recognized from her message to them as Professor Glynda Goodwitch. But no one could identify the man standing behind her. He stood tall and proud with long brown hair and green eyes that looked to all the world to be deeper than the sea itself. He wore a long red coat, buttoned all the way up under which could be seen black trousers and boots. At his waist were a pair of sabres, one on each side. He stood behind Goodwitch as she spoke.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight." She said "Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

The boy Yang had called Thatch scratched his head before placing a tricorne hat on it. "What was that?"

"He seemed kind of off, almost like he wasn't there." Yang replied.

Jaune entered the conversation for a moment, seemingly just to say to Weiss "I'm a natural blonde, you know!"

Weiss smacked her forehead and stormed off, muttering to herself about being surrounded by idiots. She was on her way out of the hall, still muttering to herself, when she ran directly into someone, causing both her and him to fall to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" she snapped.

"I am very sorry, _mademoiselle_, please forgive me." She boy she ran into said. He stood up and offered her a hand up. He was dressed mostly in blue with a fancy black, wide brimmed, feathered hat on his head. He offered her his hand, but she smacked it aside.

"Look where you're going next time." She snapped again, mood not at all improved by his manners. "Just who are you?"

"Francois Delatrois," he replied, giving a bow "_et vous, mademoiselle?_"

"Weiss." She replied, walking away.

"No last name?" said Francois, following after her. "Surely a lady of such fine dress is of equally fine lineage."

"Maybe," said Weiss, continuing her walk "but that's not of your concern now, is it?"

"Maybe," Francois replied, continuing to follow "But we'll both be here for four years, and may end up on the same team, so you may as well meet the people you'll be with, _vraiment?"_

Weiss already didn't like this guy. He seemed way too much like all the heirs her father kept on trying to set her up with in recent years. Sure, he seemed like one of the better ones, the fact that he was here at Beacon at least showed some level of skill, but with his clothing and the way he talked and carried himself made it obvious he was some kind of nobility.

"Why do you care?" Weiss retorted.

"Perhaps I merely wish to meet someone new." Said Francois, catching up. "You may as well meet new people at a new place, _non?_"

oxoxoxo

"So you and Yang knew each other at Signal?"

"Righto," said Thatch, replying to the red clad reaper. "she's sort of the reason I didn't flunk out last year."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Well I'd like to say she inspired me with her amazing motivational speeches, but that's only partly true." Said thatch, looking over at the blonde.

"What do you mean 'only partly?'"

"By that I mean she did inspire me with a speech, but it wasn't a 'you can do it' speech or anything like that. No, Yang gave me a choice: get my arse back in class or she'd kick it into next week."

Yang snorted at the memory while Ruby giggled and nudged the knight next to her. "You hear that Jaune?" she didn't get an answer. "Jaune?"

The young knight barely heard her. He was too busy staring off into space, lost in thought. That professor who stood on stage with Goodwitch, who was he? Why did he seem so familiar? He'd tried to cover up his thinking, but he could only do so much before he was lost in his mind. _That attempt to flirt with Snow White back there was just genius._ He thought._ Not weird at all Jaune._

"OY!"

Jaune jumped at the noise to see it was Thatch who had spoken. "Uh, yeah?"

"Didn't you have a sword at some point?"

"Yeah, it's nothing special though, just a, wait, where is it?" Jaune clutched around his belt looking for the blade, but found nothing. "Ah nuts. You guys go ahead to the ballroom, I'll meet you there when I have it."

They bid farewell and Jaune began to retrace his steps, making his way back to where Ozpin had given his speech when he heard it. "Hey."

Jaune looked up to see a girl dressed in purple cloth and silver armour walking towards him. She didn't look happy. He had no idea what she could have been mad about, and he didn't know how to deal with angry girls. _Pull yourself together Arc! Remember, confidence is the key. _"Uh, hi?" _smooth move, idiot._

The girl walked right up to him and looked him right in the eye. Jaune swallowed at her piercing gaze, her red eyes seeming to look right into his soul. That was when she pulled away slightly and held out his sheathed blade. "You dropped this."

The now confused knight grabbed the blade, and the centurion turned on her heel and walked off. "Hey, thanks!"

She stopped for a moment. "Don't mention it." And then she kept walking.

"You're not even going to tell me your name?"

"Maria."

"Uh okay." Jaune muttered. It was then that someone patted him on the back. He turned to see a shorter, oriental girl with green eyes and black hair dressed in red robes with green armour. "HI?"

The girl just smiled and walked off, making the knight even more confused.

He scratched his head before muttering "What just happened?"

oxoxoxo

"I should have known it would happen eventually."

Glynda Goodwitch looked over at her red coated companion. "Is something the matter Curtis?"

He looked back to her. "It's nothing Glynda, just something I'll have to deal with."

oxoxoxo

**Well, there's chapter 1, and since term papers are FINALLY over, I'll be able to write more now.**

**Hope you like this chapter, and sorry it took so long.**


	6. The Test Begins

**RWBY: Beacon's Fading Light**

**Chapter 2**

Maria Gaia sat in the corner of the large ballroom at Beacon Academy, polishing _Imperator_. She cast her mind back to how she got here and could not say she was entirely pleased with what happened. She had been so great before until that fateful day when she was defeated. Maria had never lost before, and to say she was angered at the loss would have been an understatement. She was livid, humiliated, and most of all defeated. But that didn't stop her. No, at the first chance she got, Maria applied to Beacon and they, acknowledging her record in combat, had agreed to allow her in. She knew they only accepted the best at Beacon and was determined to meet and exceed that standard at any cost, rebuilding herself after the defeat and doubling her training regimen. Now she was ready for anything Beacon could throw at her.

Looking around the ballroom, she noticed that most people had now fallen asleep with the exception of only a few, a dark haired girl in the corner who silently reading a book by candlelight, a white haired girl who didn't look too happy to be talking to a tall, blonde boy, a black haired boy who was walking towards them, and an oriental girl in another corner who was drawing on her sketch pad. Maria looked at them and then back to her now shining shield. Maybe it was time to call it a night.

oxoxoxo

"Look, will you just leave me alone?"

"What is the matter _madame? _I only wish to talk, and you look like you could use some company."

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. Francois and her had split soon after they met earlier today, but when she entered the ballroom she had run into him. Literally. Again. And while he was still polite despite all she had said, Weiss still didn't want him around. He was just too much like the noble boys her father had tried to make her get close to, and she was having none of it. _'I swear, if he's on my team I'll-"_

Weiss' train of thought was interrupted by an unfortunately familiar voice. "Don't bother with this one friend, calling her an 'Ice Queen,' is an insult to the ice."

"Oh great, you again." Weiss grumbled. She was about to say more when Francois got up.

"I don't know who you are, but my friend here does not seem to appreciate your company." He began, "I think you should leave."

"I'm trying to help you here," The boy in black responded.

"Did I ask for your help?"

"Well, no.

"Then that's it then." Francois finished "Go."

Thatch shrugged and walked off muttering to himself about nobles. He'd left Yang and Ruby to their devices, and seeing as he wasn't tired and there were still people awake he'd look and see if he could find someone to talk to. Yang and Ruby were harassing some dark haired girl, Jaune was passed out on his sleeping bag and apparently Weiss did not want to talk to him and neither did that other guy. He looked around and noticed something. _Well, there's at least one person still awake to talk to. _He thought, seeing the girl in the corner with her sketch pad. He made his way over to her and took a seat. "What have you got there?"

The girl looked up from her drawing to notice him sitting next to her. She didn't say anything, just smiled at him and turned her sketch pad to face him. Thatch took the book and looked over the image. The dark haired boy looked up from the book and stared the artist right in the face. "Is this a photo?"

The girl said nothing, merely smiling and shaking her head. Thatch looked back at the drawing. The entire page was taken up by an incredibly detailed drawing of Beacon in all but colour. Marking the page with a finger, Thatch turned to the cover of the book, hoping to find a name. "Alison Zu, is it?"

The girl nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you Alison, I'm Thatch Edwards." The renegade said before taking a look up at the clock. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you, well, sort of, but it's getting a bit late so I'd best say goodnight. See you tomorrow."

Alison watched him walk off, smiling to herself. "Thank you." She said quietly.

oxoxoxo

As the students slept, another conversation was happening, this one was slightly less pleasant. "Listen sir, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, but I cannot do this." The red coated professor pleaded.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses before replying. "Curtis, I merely gave you a list of students for you to test tomorrow, we all have to perform the tests with the students-"

"Yes, but you know full well why I can't test _this _student!"

"And why might that be Curtis?" The red garbed man turned to face his teaching partner, a tall man dressed mostly in black with a long flowing cape down his back and a rapier at his belt. Looking up to his face, one would see gelled back hair and piercing blue eyes and his most striking feature: a long, jagged scar running down the right side of his face from his forehead over his eye and down to his jaw line.

"Erik, I know you have no issue with this, but-"

"That's enough, both of you."

The two professors turned to face the one who had spoken. Glynda Goodwitch spoke up once more. "I know why you don't what to test him and I have an idea. You have a student you'd rather not have in your test group and so do I." She turned to Ozpin and showed her the list she had been given. "I propose I exchange this student for Curtis'. He doesn't have to deal with his problem just yet, and I don't have to risk the emerald forest being levelled by two of the students on this list."

Ozpin looked at Goodwitch's list and nodded. "You have a point, very well Curtis, you'll switch students with Glynda."

"Thank you sir." The red coated man said, giving a slight bow. His black cloaked partner merely rolled his eyes in disinterest.

oxoxoxo

The next morning, teams gathered in the locker room to get their equipment and combat garb together.

"That's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

Lie Ren turned to his energetic, red headed friend. "Come on Nora, let's go."

"But not _together _together..." Nora giggled, following her old friend out.

Ruby watched them go, wondering aloud "I wonder what those two are so worked up about."

Yang turned around to face her sister. "Oh, who knows. So you seem awfully chipper this morning."

The red hooded girl smiled. "Yup, no more awkward small talk or getting to know you stuff." she said, pulling her beloved _Crescent Rose _out of her locker. "Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." With that, Ruby hugged her folded up scythe to her chest.

"Well remember Ruby," said Yang "you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up you'll have to meet new people and learn to work together."

"She's got a point," Ruby looked to the source of the voice to find Thatch standing there dressed in his greatcoat and hat with a pair of swords sheathed at his waist. "I mean, even as amazing as I am, I need to be able to trust someone other than _Anne _and _Elizabeth _here."

"Ugh, you both sound like dad..." Ruby grumbled. "What does meeting people have to do with fighting? And I don't need people to help me grow up, I drink milk." Ruby finished, crossing her arms and trying to look haughty. Well, trying at least.

"Maybe you should ask for your money back on that." Muttered Thatch.

Before Ruby could say anything to the renegade, Yang spoke up again. "But what about when we form teams?"

Ruby turned around and kicked at the floor awkwardly. "I don't know, I guess I'll just be on your team or something."

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team..." Yang said, brushing her hair awkwardly as Thatch tried not to laugh.

"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

Thatch laughed to himself as Yang tried to come up with a response to that. "What, no, that's-"

"Ridiculous!" said Jaune, marching past, muttering about where he put his gear.

Meanwhile, next to a few other lockers, Weiss spoke to a stunning crimson haired girl in bronze armour. "So Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well known individual such as yourself."

"Hmm," the girl, now identified as Pyrrha thought "I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha looked behind the heiress for a second. "Seems like someone wants to join you for this one though."

Weiss had a pretty good idea what she would see when she turned around, but she did anyway. "Hello Francois."

"You don't sound very happy to see me _madame._" The nobleman replied.

"I've already told you I don't need you around!" Weiss snapped "I'm doing great without you!"

Francois was about to respond when another voice did for him. "You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

Weiss groaned. "You again?"

Pyrrha stepped up beside her and spoke up. "Nice to meet you Jaune."

The knight pushed her aside to get to Weiss. "Yeah yeah. So, Weiss. Couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Weiss grumbled.

"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed." Jaune replied. "So, been hearing rumours about teams," he said in a sing-song voice. "I was thinking you and me would make a good one, what do you say."

It was then that Weiss thought of something. "Hey, Francois, do you think you could maybe help me out here.

"_Je suis desole, madame." _Francois began "I thought you didn't need me."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

While Weiss and Francois began to bicker (or rather Weiss did and Francois just took most of the yelling), Pyrrha walked up to Jaune and spoke again. "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each."

"You don't say," Jaune mused "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

Pyrrha was about to respond when things suddenly went downhill very fast. "You!"

Pyrrha and Jaune both turned to where the voice came from, Weiss even stopping mid tirade to look. The speaker was a none too pleased looking girl with brown hair and red eyes in segmented steel armour carrying a large shield marching towards them.

Pyrrha was the first to regain her composure. "Maria? IS that you?" she gave the other girl a smile. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"What are you so happy about?" The girl Pyrrha had called Maria demanded.

Before Pyrrha could say anything else, Jaune happened. "Well, you seem tough, and not too hard on the eyes, maybe you'd like to join team Jaune too?"

Pyrrha was about to caution Jaune, but before she could, Maria decided to do it herself, smacking the knight in the face with her shield, sending him crumpling to the floor by a locker.

"I see you made it into Beacon." Pyrrha said, hoping to save Jaune further pain.

"I did, thanks for noticing."

Pyrrha was about to keep talking when an announcement by professor Goodwitch came on. "All students report to the main hall to begin intiation."

Maria looked Pyrrha dead in the eye. "We'll talk later." With that, the Centurion walked off.

oxoxoxo

The students arrived at the main hall to find two large papers stuck on the doors. Each paper had several names on it and instructions on where to sit depending on where the name was.

Francois found his name easily and turned to Weiss. "Well _madame, _it seems this is where we part ways."

"I'll try to contain my disappointment." Weiss grumbled in return. While she wasn't going to shed any tears over not being on the same team as Francois, at the bottom of her side's sheet was the name _Jaune Arc._ There was a possibility she could end up on a team with him.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was grateful. She may not have known anyone on her sheet aside from Jaune and Weiss, but a look down to the bottom of the other sheet revealed to her the name _Maria Gaia. 'On thank dust.' _She said to herself. That could have been awkward.

Still meanwhile, Thatch held his hand out for his old friend. "Well Yang, I guess this is it for now."

Yang accepted the handshake. "I can't help but feel like I'll never see you again Thatch."

"What, you think I'm that bad at this?"

"Well you did get beat up by a girl at Signal."

"Yes, but that girl was you, and you kick so much arse that you need special shoe polish formulated for arse stink."

Ruby giggled as her sister and Thatch talked. She was happy to see she was on the same list as Yang even if the renegade would be on the other side. And hey, Jaune was there too, and so was that Blake girl she had talked to before.

Jaune looked at the list, rather puzzled. He had found his name on one of the lists, but rather than being under A for Arc, his name was at the bottom of the list. He had checked the other list as well, thinking this might have been a mistake, but no, his name was only on this one, right at the bottom. Why was that?

He would have asked, but there was no one to ask right now. It seemed, however, that those who had already read their names on their respective lists were headed into the auditorium, maybe someone in there could answer his question.

Filing into the auditorium, students were greeted by a somewhat familiar sight on the stage. At the front of the stage stood professor Ozpin, waiting at the microphone for all the students to enter the room. To his left stood Professor Goodwitch, as usual, but to his right were two other men. The first was the red coated man from the introduction, still standing tall and proud. The second man was a different story. He was dressed almost all in black, black shoes, black pants, black greatcoat, black cape, the only thing standing out was the white mask made of Grimm bone covering the right half of his face. As far as his features that weren't hidden went, his dark brown hair was gelled back and his eyes were a dark brown.

Once all the students had entered, Ozpin cleared his throat to get the attention of the masses. Seeing that he had it, he began to speak. "Students of Beacon Academy, today will be your initiation. Pass, and you will join the ranks of Beacon's full time students. Fail, and if you're still alive you'll be sent home. Now before I go any further, I have a few introductions I must make." He gestured to the red coated man. "This is Professor Curtis Marlow, our professor of world culture." He then gestured to the man in black. "And this is Professor Erik Fantine, professor of dramatic arts and Grimm studies."

Professor Fantine looked out over the audience, daring anyone to laugh at his teaching position. Surprisingly, no one did.

Ozpin continued. "You will have noticed that your name is on one of the sheets on the door. If you were on sheet number one, you will come with myself and Professor Goodwitch, if you were on sheet number two, you will be tested by Professors Marlow and Fantine, any questions?" Jaune raised his hand. "Good, now follow your professors to your tests and let the initiation begin."

oxoxoxo

Alison looked around where the professors had led them. They were now standing at the top of a large cliff just outside the borders of Beacon Academy. A number of slightly raised platforms stood before them, as did Professors Marlow and Fantine.

"Step forward," Came the deep voice of Professor Fantine "and we will begin."

Following his directions, each student stepped forward onto one of the raised platforms and waited, wondering what their test would be.

Professor Marlow cleared his throat and began to speak. "What few people know about this school is that it was built long ago over many networks of caves." Many a student looked up at the red coated professor at this, but he ignored them and continued. "Some are used for storage, but most are not, and today, for your initiation, you'll be exploring these catacombs."

Professor Fantine picked up from there. "You'll find at the centre of the network you'll be in a shrine, and in it will be several relics. Your task is to retrieve one of these relics and bring it to us."

"Be warned," Marlow continued "these tunnels are home to many species of Grimm, and they will not hesitate to kill you. If you do not fight back you will die."

It was silent after that line; Alison could swear she heard a pin drop.

After a few moments, Marlow spoke up once again. "Now, I'm sure you've heard about the assignment of teams. Allow me to explain how this will work. You will be assigned your partners today. You will join with this person for your time at this school. It is important that your partner be someone you can work well with, as you will be fighting alongside this person against powerful monsters."

Alison looked to her left to see Thatch smiling at her. She smiled back.

However, when Professor Fantine spoke up, her smile faltered and died. "This being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Several demands of "WHAT!?" followed this, but the professors chose to ignore it.

"Be ready," said Marlow "your initiation begins" he turned to Erik who replied with a nod. "now."

With that line, all the platforms gave way under the students and down they fell into Beacon's unknown heart of darkness.

oxoxoxo

**Well, that was longer than the last one.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading it, and don't worry, there's a lot more to come.**

**Just a little challenge to anyone who's up for it, try to guess which historical figures and/or classic literature characters I based my OCs off of. Here's a list of them.**

**Alison Zu**

**Thatch Edwards**

**Francois Delatrois**

**Maria Gaia**

**Curtis Marlow**

**Erik Fantine**

**Give it a try just for fun, if you do, I'll message you and tell you how many you got right.**

**Also just for fun, here's a deleted scene from the end of the chapter:**

Erik and Curtis watched their students tumble down into darkness, waiting until the panicked screams died out before turning to each other.

"You think they'll live?" asked Marlow.

Fantine shrugged. "Maybe."

Marlow gave a faint smirk, something he wasn't often seen doing. Erik followed, doing the same.

"Dumping students down a trapdoor never loses its entertainment value, does it?" asked Fantine.

"No, old friend, it doesn't." Replied Marlow "Although sometimes I wish I had Ozpin's job."

Erik folded his arms. "I don't always drink coffee, but when I do I sip it by the cliff as launch undergraduates off it."

Both professors got a hearty chuckle out of that.


	7. Into the Caverns

**RWBY: Beacon's Fading Light**

**Chapter 3**

oxoxoxo

Thatch Edwards had caused a lot of terror in his life. He'd intimidated those who didn't pay him, he'd scared off anyone who had ever tormented him, hell his _semblance _was _terror, _so by dust, he knew how to scare someone.

At the moment, however, the once terrifying Thatch Edwards screamed at the top of his lungs as he was dropped down a tube from the surface.

He mentally struggled for a moment as half his mind tried to figure a way to survive the inevitable landing while the other half was too busy screaming. In the end, the more rational side won out, and came up with one idea. The other side was terrified of it, but it was either this, or become a stain on the cave floor.

Seeing the end of the drop approaching as the pipe opened up to a chamber bellow, Thatch knew it was now or never. He immediately drew both his swords and jammed them into the wall. _Anne _and _Elizabeth _bit deep into the stone walls, but he just kept falling, carving two trenches into the wall until he finally ground to an agonizing halt. Thatch took a moment to look down. From his chest up he was still in the tube, but from the shoulders down dangled into a large stone chamber.

It was a fairly featureless room carved into a giant dome like shape. The ceiling, luckily, wasn't very high, so Thatch could drop down and have a better look at the room.

_As soon as my heart stops racing. _He thought. _Then I'll pull the ladies out of the wall._

oxoxoxo

An empty, grey, stone room. Nothing in sight but dust and the occasional spider. This room may once have sported life, but if so, that was long ago, nothing had even entered through the long, straight passage to the surface for quite some time. It was truly peaceful.

Then, one day, from the pipe to the surface, if one was listening from the chamber they could swear they heard screaming from above.

This thought, however would only last a few seconds before the thinker... well didn't think much anymore.

Looking up through the tube to the surface, one would see that the light seemed to be getting closer and closer, and with the light came heat. Continuing to look, and in fact, remaining in the room at all would soon be found to be a mistake as a blazing inferno surged out of the tube, hitting the floor of the chamber and splashing all over the floor and even up the walls. It would go on for a few seconds, and then about as quickly as it began it would cease and into the room would drop a young girl in red robes and a green chestplate and boots carrying a zhua.

Alison Zu took one look around the now blackened room. Looking around, she would see that there were no other entrances, so at least no one else would be hit by the blast. She ejected the now used up fire dust cartridge in her zhua, _Pianji. _She had a feeling she'd need the extra firepower.

oxoxoxo

In another empty room, if one looked to the surface, they'd see dust and a few small rocks fall through the tube flowed soon by a large, purple shield and a girl in segmented armour and a helmet.

Maria Gaia counted herself lucky. The tube she had been dropped down had begun to become narrower as she fell, allowing her to wedge her mighty shield in between the walls and slow her fall enough to safely hit the ground.

She counted her blessings again to have a near indestructible shield as she didn't want to risk losing her sword.

Recovering her shield, _Imperator_, Maria drew the blade from the sheath on her hip and looked at her reflection in the dim light of the room. Her own red eyes stared back at her, defiantly, as if daring her to not keep moving.

Looking around the room, she noticed there was only one door. Determined to not waste any more time, Maria marched, shield raised, towards the door.

oxoxoxo

Rather than come out a tube in the top of the room, the path Francois Delatrois had fallen down had twisted and turned a lot, allowing him to slow his momentum down enough so that he wasn't immediately launched out of the tube to make an impression on the opposite wall of that which it ended on.

When the tube ended, spitting him out of a wall in another empty room, Francois hit the ground, rolled, landed on one knee, drew his sword, _Mademoiselle, _shifted it into its carbine form and looked around the room, gun pointed. Seeing that the room was clear, Francois rose to his feet, keeping his gun in hand, and made for the only exit: a single door on the opposite side of the room.

Making his way there, Francois looked over the door. It had no handle and didn't seem particularly sturdy so he took the only way through: he took one step back, raised his foot and kicked down the door, immediately aiming through it. Seeing that he now faced another empty room, this one a large cube shaped room with a door on each wall, Francois lowered his gun, but didn't holster it. He took a few steps into the large room, noticing only two other doors on opposite ends of the room.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise as the lock was knocked off one of the doors. The nobleman wasted no time in aiming at the door. Finger on the trigger, eyes looking down the lights at the door, he felt a single bead of sweat drip down his brow.

The door flew off its hinges in a cloud of dust and Francois heard the sound of guns being cocked. He still didn't take his finger off the trigger until the dust cleared whereupon he wished he had just fired. _"Oh merde..." _He muttered.

Thatch Edwards looked across the room at him. "Bloody hell..."

oxoxoxo

Maria opened the door to the next room and immediately raised her shield. She had encountered no Grimm so far, but that meant nothing. She knew full well that every room she came across could very well be full to bursting with the creatures and she wasn't going to be killed by them today or ever. Not if she could do anything about it.

She looked around from behind her shield to see, surprisingly enough, another empty room, this one with four doors, one of which she had just emerged from.

Taking a moment to catch her bearings, she looked around the room trying to remember what turns she had taken on the way here before remembering one crucial detail: she hadn't made a single turn on her entire way down here.

That was when a door burst apart and the centurion turned, opening the boss of her shield to reveal the spinning barrels beneath.

She needn't have worried, for emerging from the door was not a monster of Grimm, but a tall, red haired boy in full plate armour carrying a large mace over his shoulder, clearly what he had used to knock down the door. _'Great.' _She thought. _'Stuck for four years with some random meathead.'_

She was about to introduce herself when the boy did it for her. "Well hello hot stuff." He said in a smug voice and with an expression that made her throw up a little in her mouth. "Name's Cardin, Cardin Winchester," he said, striking a pose. "And since my team's not full yet, maybe you'd like to join, it could always be a little better looking."

Maria wanted to vomit again, but then she noticed something about what he said. "Wait, what do you mean 'not full yet?'"

Her question was answered when another boy emerged from the door behind Cardin. He wore brown armour and had a head of blonde hair. He carried a halberd with him, the bottom edge looking like a barrel of some kind. Cardin turned to the other boy. "Hey Dove, look at what I just found."

The boy he had called 'Dove' gave her a quick once over, lingering on her legs that were visible beneath her skirt. Feeling her face heat up, Maria quickly hid her lower half behind her shield.

Dove turned back to Cardin. "Nice one."

Cardin looked like he was about to say something else when one of the other doors flew off its hinges and nearly smacked right into the two boys. Maria looked at the door. There was one single scorch mark on it. She looked to where it came from to see an oriental girl dressed in red and green standing in the door frame carrying a large metal pole with a claw on one side, a zhua, if she remembered correctly. The girl gave a shy smile and a small wave.

Cardin was the first to say anything. "Well looky here, we've got two lovely ladies on our new team, I like where this is going." He looked over to Dove and gave a smirk. "I think I should get first pick of the ladies."

"Why you?" demanded Dove as he tried to look threatening and failed due to Cardin being a full head taller than him.

Before Cardin could respond, Maria snapped at him. "Look, I don't care if I have to be on the same team as you. You don't get to touch me, you don't get to touch her, and that's final. Got it."

"Ooh, I like 'em feisty." Cardin grinned. "I'm sure you'll come around eventually, after all, we'll be on the same team for four years."

"Uh, actually..." the entire room turned to look at the new girl. "The eye contact rule only applies to the first person on your team, so really neither of us is on your team. You lose." She said in a quiet voice.

Cardin's mouth hung open. Dove tried to find the right words. Maria just smirked and walked over to the other girl. "I think I'm going to like it on your team." She said, patting the other girl on the back. "What's your name?"

"A-Alison Zu." She said softly.

"Well Alison, I'm Maria Gaia, nice to meet you. Now come on," said the Centurion, pointing to the last door. "We've got relics to find."

The two girls walked over to the final door, Cardin and Dove following. Cardin raised his mace to break the door, but Alison put up a hand to stop him. "Allow me." She gave the door a quick once-over, her eyes glowing blue for one second before she raised her weapon and gave one smack to a point just off the centre of the door. It flew right off its hinges and hit the wall of the next room.

Cardin looked at this tiny girl in awe. Maria resisted the urge to laugh. "I'd like to see you try to do that." She said as she and Alison walked through the now open door.

Oxoxoxo

**Well, now that exams are over I can get back to the things I love. Oh and writing too I suppose.**

**As for why Cardin's in the caves, think of it this way: we never see him in the Emerald Forest with the rest of the group, so in my story I give a reason why.**

**Also, seriously, no guesses as to who the characters are? None at all?**

**Well, while you guys decide whether or not to try and answer that, here's another deleted scene.**

"Ooh, I like 'em feisty." Cardin grinned. "I'm sure you'll come around eventually, after all, we'll be on the same team for four years."

Maria watched in disgust as the boys didn't even try to hide the fact that they were ogling her, but she knew what she would do about it. _'Time for a little something from an old friend.' _She thought, remembering someone at sanctum.

Strapping her shield to her back, she waltzed over to Cardin, swinging her hips with every step until she was right in front of him. She raised her hand up to run a finger down the front of his chestplate. "You sure I'm a nice one? Maybe I'm a little naughty." She said, wrapping a hand around his back.

Cardin opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a high pitched squeak when Maria's knee met his family jewels. He wanted to collapse, but her arm around his back held him up to face him.

Maria, all the while looking him in the eye, used her free hand to draw her sword and point it where she had just kicked. "Talk to me or look at me like that and I'll make sure you never feel pain like that again. Got it?" Maria said in a sickly sweet voice.

Cardin meekly nodded.

Maria let him go and he fell to the ground. She turned to walk away, but looked back for just a moment. "Oh, and I'll break both your legs too if I see you do that to her," she said, pointing at the Oriental girl standing in the newly opened doorway.


	8. Into the Caverns II

**RWBY: Beacon's Fading Light**

**Chapter 4**

oxoxoxo

"How did I end up stuck with you?"

"_Mon Dieu, _do you ever stop your whining?"

"I'm not whining noble boy," Thatch Edwards replied as he and his new partner Francois Delatrois approached another door, weapons drawn. After meeting eyes, the two of them were forced by the rules of the test to join as a team, a prospect that neither one was thrilled about. "I'm not excited about working with someone so fresh off the silver spoon." He grumbled as he sheathed one of his swords to try the handle to the door.

"And perhaps I do not wish to work with a rude, obnoxious criminal!" Francois retorted. "I don't have much of a choice in this though, seeing as I'm stuck with you now."

"Don't remind me." Thatch muttered. He turned the doorknob to find it unlocked and raised his other sword as he pushed it open. The two huntsmen entered the room, finding it to be a narrow hallway of featureless stone with a ceiling about six feet above the ground and just wide enough for the both of them to enter. Thatch held up both his swords and pointed the barrels of their guns down the corridor. "It's a bit tight, hope you're not too afraid of a little dirt and dust."

"_Tres drole..." _muttered the nobleman.

"I'll go first," Thatch said, seriously. "If anything attacks I don't need as much room to fight it."

"Finally, something sensible out of your mouth."

Thatch chose to ignore the retort and began to advance down the corridor, guns raised. Francois followed behind him, walking backwards with his rifle pointed behind them. Neither one spoke a word as they advanced down the tunnel, giving each one time to think.

_Here's hoping he's not too much dead weight. _Thought Thatch _At least he has a decent weapon._

_Well, if there's one thing to be said about criminals it's that they're usually tough. _Francois mused. _Now if he could just shut his mouth._

"There's a light up ahead." whispered Thatch, breaking the silence. "It's dim, but it's something. Let's go."

The nobleman only nodded as they continued down the tunnel toward the light. Thatch emerged first into the new room and looked around. Francois was about to follow when Thatch held out an arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"What is it now?" demanded Francois.

"Shut up." The renegade responded.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Friend, if you've any faith in me, you'll take off that ridiculous hat and look up without a word. Then you'll shut up."

Francois chose to ignore the comment about his attire, but looked up none the less. His mouth opened when he realized why Thatch had told him to be quiet. The Nobleman looked around the room to see there were two other doors besides the one they'd just entered through. He gestured with _Mademoiselle _to the door on the opposite side of the room before looking to his companion. Thatch nodded and the two set off across the large room.

The place was massive, a huge, circular room that reminded Thatch of an arena. _All it's missing is a scoreboard. _He thought to himself. This thought was derailed by a second one: _Not a sound. Keep moving._

Francois was surprised at what Thatch had done. Only knowing the man for a short time, he could tell that he was no stranger to trouble, but he was choosing to avoid it now. Why was that? _Figure it out later! _He thought in a harsh whisper. _Focus on silence!_

The two companions had just made their way to the middle of the room, all the while moving quietly, taking light steps. They didn't speak, and barely even let out a breath. They had just made it too when everything went wrong.

The door on the other side of the room suddenly flew off its hinges and with a loud 'BANG!' Thatch turned to the now open door, murder in his eyes, while Francois gave a nervous glance to the ceiling.

Coming through the door were two boys, a shorter, scrawny looking one with a greenish white Mohawk in torn, green garb and a spiked shoulder pad, and one in grey armour with blue hair and black underclothes. The armoured one was still holding a large sword, glowing with the power of the dust he had used to destroy the door. "Hah, I told you it would work!"

"Guess you were right Lark." Said the other guy. "Hey, who are these guys?"

Either ignoring or missing the frantic gestures from Thatch and Francois, the boy who was identified as 'Lark' shouted out "Hey, you guys were headed for that door, right?" he said, gesturing to the currently sealed door.

Thatch and Francois looked up, and to their dread found exactly what they were afraid of. Gazing at the ceiling, the renegade and nobleman could see numerous red dots staring back down at them. Thatch turned to face the two boys who had just entered the chamber. "Now you've done it."

The two boys looked to the ceiling and immediately wished they didn't. Each of the red dots blinked at them before sets of large wings began to unfurl as several of the creatures dropped down to meet them. Their red eyes were the only parts of the creatures that were not pitch black, but as they descended on the huntsmen in training, they could see their forms. Each one had a five foot body with short, clawed legs, and talons that gleamed white in the darkness. They had thin, black wings, each one semi-translucent and covered in dark veins, together giving each creature a near eight foot wingspan. When one opened its mouth to cry out, its long, white fangs were visible, gleaming in the dim light as they sought their next meals.

They were gigantic bats, and they didn't seem pleased that they had been awoken from their sleep.

Francois wasted no time in shooting down the first one to try and attack them, but the rest were lost in the darkness of the room. Occasionally, one would glimpse the shine of a talon or a fang as the creatures circled the room, but other than that, they were near invisible.

"What the heck are these things?" cried the other boy.

"I don't know," replied Thatch "but I liked them better when they were asleep!" He said as he sprayed one of the creatures with SMG fire.

"They're called Draculings." Said Francois, shooting another one in the head. "They're cave dwelling Grimm, carnivorous, and very ferocious."

"You can barely see them!" said Lark.

"That's why they stay in caves!" Francois replied "Whatever you do, don't let them catch you, they drink blood."

"What does that have to do with anything?" demanded the boy with the Mohawk who had drawn a pair of pistols with large bayonets on the front.

"Does he really need to explain why having your blood drained is bad?" Thatch replied as he cut down an incoming Draculing.

"Just don't let them get close!" yelled Francois as he put a bullet in one bat and impaled another on his bayonet.

"Thanks tips!" said Lark as he cut one in half with a swing of his glowing sword. "What's next, don't let them bite me?" he said, firing a blast of dust energy at another of the creatures.

The green haired boy just ducked under an incoming bat, shooting it in both wings as it flew overhead before firing one of his bayonets, connected to his gun by a cable, into the underside of one Draculing, using the cable to swing it into another before retracting it.

"Nice one Thrush." Said Lark, firing off another dust blast.

"There are still too many here for you to show off right now!" said Thatch as he cut through the mouth of an attacking Grimm and used his other sword to gun down a second one. "Anyone have any bright ideas?"

Francois looked around the room. If they tried to make a run for the door they would be easy prey, but they couldn't just stay here either. He looked to all his companions, one by one before he had an idea. "Thatch, can you scare them away from the door?"

"Maybe for a bit, but they'll be right back."

"Do it on my signal, Lark, when he does that, fire a blast at that side of the ceiling!"

"What? Are you insane? That could kill us!"

Francois stared the other boy down. "Trust me, I have a plan." The nobleman said, pouring his semblance into it as his eyes rimmed with gold for just a moment. He watched with satisfaction as it spread to Lark's eyes, as he bore an expression of determination and gave a single nod.

"You might want to do that for everyone," said Thatch, readying himself "after this, I don't want anyone running the wrong way."

Francois nodded and closed his eyes. When they opened, they were glowing gold, the rims of the other boys' eyes beginning to glow with him as they all felt their spirits raise as confidence flooded their minds and bodies. He turned to Thatch and gave a single word: "Now!"

Thatch nodded and closed his eyes for just a moment re-opening them glowing red. He smirked, showing off a pair of sharp, gleaming fangs. He let out a low chuckle as the shadows of the room seemed to grow darker. As Thatch's laugh grew louder but no less sinister, a wave of dread emanated from him, sending shivers up the spines of his companions. The Grimm on the other hand were not so lucky, one by one as they were caught in the pulse they began to scream, a loud shrill noise that built and built as more and more were caught. They began to fly as fast as they could away from the sealed door, as if it was the maw of a demon threatening to devour them.

Thatch turned to Lark. "Blast it, now!"

Lark nodded and raised his weapon, firing off a blast of red energy at the ceiling above the creatures, firing a second shot just for good luck. As soon as they hit, the room began to shake as dust and small stones rained down from above the creatures, soon followed by the rest of that section of the ceiling, crushing the remaining Draculings as they gave one final scream.

Thrush gave Lark a slap on the back. "Nice shot man!"

"One question:" said Thatch, semblance de-activated. "How did you keep the ceiling from collapsing" at that moment, the room began to shake again. "On us too!"

Rocks began to fall from the ceiling as the four boys ran for the door. Lark got there first, brought back his boot and kicked the door open. He charged through, closely followed by Thrush, Thatch and Francois. As soon as the last of the boys were through the door, a large rock fell over the entrance, narrowly missing Francois as he entered.

"Let's not do that again." said Thrush in between panting.

"Agreed." Said Francois.

Thatch looked into the room they had entered. It was a long, narrow corridor, much like the one that led them to the Draculings. "We should take a minute to catch our breath and then move on. I'll go first, noble boy, you and Lark bring up the middle, Thrush, you take the back."

The others agreed, and before long they were ready to move again.

oxoxoxo

Maria was just about done with Cardin and Dove.

Since they had started walking, the two boys had done nothing but stare at her ass and make bad pickup lines, expecting them to work. At this point, she was tempted to kill them both, and continue the mission with just Alison, claiming that the Grimm did it. _Hell, at this point I'd rather be on a team with that Jaune boy..._

"You know," Cardin said, breaking Maria's thoughts "They're probably going to put us all on the same team anyway, you might as well just admit you want me now and make it easier on us both."

Maria whirled on Cardin, ready to give him a piece of her mind when she discovered something that made her even angrier. He was talking to a hunched away, red faced Alison Zu who didn't look the least bit comfortable with his presence. That was it. She marched briskly over to the knight and slapped him across the face.

"Ow, what the hell?"

"Cut it out. We have a mission to complete, and you're not helping." Said Maria looking him straight in the eye, a difficult thing to do when you're almost a full head shorter than someone. "Now straighten up or I'll leave you for the Grimm."

Cardin rubbed his cheek for a moment before speaking again. "You know, if you wanted me to yourself, all you had to do was ask."

Maria didn't need to turn around for people to feel the rage emanating from her. The cave became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. When Maria did turn around, the look on her face was deadly calm, but her eyes said only one thing: _murder._

Cardin gulped. "I think I'll shut up now."

Without a word, Maria turned back around and started down the tunnel, Alison following close behind her and Cardin and Dove bringing up the rear.

The Oriental girl walked up next to the Centurion and quietly said "Thank you."

Maria gave a rare smile. In the short time she'd known Alison, the girl had made herself quite likeable, if a little awkward. She didn't talk much, but Maria was fine with that, she liked quiet, and when she did say something it was nice to hear her speak. "Anytime." Maria said back. _Now if only these two buffoons weren't with us..._

"You know, I have a wonder, if you'll indulge me." Said Maria after a short silence.

"What is it?" asked Alison.

"I've seen what you can do, I mean the first time I saw you, you launched a door across a room and then did it again with just one hit. You're really strong, but you let people like Cardin get to you. Why is that?"

Alison gave a small smile and a shrug. "I guess I'm just not very good with people."

Maria put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe I can help with that."

"You already have." The artist muttered, just loud enough for Maria to hear.

This brought another of those small smiles to Maria's face as they continued through the deep, dark caverns of Beacon Academy.

It wasn't long before the party came across another door, this one considerably larger than the others. Alison raised her zhua to blast it, but Maria held out a hand. "Hold on. Something's not right here."

"What do you mean? We've seen a dozen doors just today, why are you so on edge about this one?" demanded Cardin.

"He's got a point," added Dove "We've knocked down every other door we've seen today, what's wrong with this one?"

"It's huge." Said Maria simply.

"And?" Cardin said, somewhat annoyed.

"Well, why is this one so much bigger than all the others? It doesn't make any sense."

Cardin stepped forward and raised his mace. "I'll bet this is where the relics are." Before Maria could tell him to stop, Cardin wound up a swing and smashed his weapon into the door, smashing it to pieces in a single swing. The good news was that a single look through the door would show anyone entering the shrine in the center, a large, glowing crystal suspended above it lit up the entire room, bathing it in a bright, yet eerie blue light. Looking down at the shrine, several pedestals were visible, each one containing something, but no one could tell what from such a distance.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing in the enormous chamber they had discovered.

That room was a massive cylindrical chamber the walls of which were covered in what appeared to be a large carving of a massive creature. It was a draconic beast with massive wings, each bearing a large claw at the tip with great talons ready to rip flesh from the bones of a giant. Its long neck extending to a great length and topped with a massive, tooth filled maw that looked big enough to swallow an Ursa. The only thing that was out of place was a small chip in the skull of the beast, one about the size of a human head, right in the center of its forehead.

"What the hell is that?" asked Dove.

"Who cares," said Cardin "It's dead, and we found the relics. Let's grab them and head out of here."

"Wait." Said Alison. She quickly pointed down to the shrine with the tip of her zhua and Maria noticed what she saw. Prowling the areas around the shrine were several Ursae, each one much larger than anything seen on land. "They don't look friendly, do they?"

"No, they don't." Said Maria, looking over the area with a critical eye "How did they get so huge?" she wondered aloud.

"A cave dwelling Ursa is much larger than their forest dwelling companions." Said Dove. Maria turned to him with a questioning look. "I read it in a book somewhere."

"Did that book also tell you how to stop them?" asked the centurion. Dove shook his head and Maria let out a sigh. "I guess we have to do this the hard way." She said as she turned to her forces.

Cardin hefted his mace and gave it a spin, a cruel smile on his face.

Dove pumped the action on his halberd, ejecting a spent shell before adding a new one.

Alison twirled her zhua around her before making each talon glow with a different dust power.

Maria gave her team a smirk before she turned toward the creatures of Grimm. She drew her sword and raised her shield, the boss opening up to reveal the spinning barrels beneath it.

With weapons ready, the hunters in training began their advance.

oxoxoxo

**So there's the beginning of the action. Next chapter, the battle for the relics begins as all the groups converge on the shrine as they face the creatures of Grimm in Beacon's heart of darkness.**

**Also, people still haven't guessed who the characters are based off. Oh well. If no one makes any guesses, I'll just post who they are on my profile after the next chapter.**

**I don't have any deleted scenes this time. Sorry about that... I'll see if there are any in the next chapter.**


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